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Experts from the University of Murcia (UMU) describe for the first time the sexual reproduction of the Posidonia oceanica seedling, the largest and oldest living being in the world.
The article, published in PlosOne, will allow the restoration and conservation of its underwater meadows.
"It all started a few years ago when we were investigating its recovery, it is a long-lived species, but of slow growth that if it disappears takes several centuries to recover", illustrates Arnaldo Marín, professor of the Area of ​​Ecology of the UMU.
To do this, they first delved into reproduction, asexual through stolons and rhizomes.
Its dispersion begins when the fruits mature and emerge floating;
they open and release the seed, which needs to be rooted quickly so as not to be swept away by the waves.
Posidonia uses a hairiness capable of adhering to almost any surface, from sand to rock.
Also, to facilitate seedling development the seed performs photosynthesis.
Tripod-like roots, also with adherent capacity, allow the seed to orient itself towards light.
The teacher describes them as "complex and surprising mechanisms that make it unique and explain its evolutionary success, but at the same time hinder its restoration".
Indicative of water quality
The largest individual in the world of "Posidonia oceanica has taken several centuries to spread from Formentera to Ibiza, if it disappears means that the ecosystem is degrading, in this sense, it becomes an indicator of ecological quality," says Marín.
With a high sensitivity to any change in its environment, the increase in turbidity of water, pollutants or anchors that rhizomes tear produce unrecoverable damages in human life.
The expert says: "It would take a thousand years to cover a football field",
To achieve this complete analysis, they have used several techniques: from microscopy to see the structure, to measure with photo-radiometer or experiments in incubation chambers to analyze photosynthesis and phototropism.
The results are the result of Laura Guerrero Meseguer's doctoral thesis, co-directed by Arnaldo Marín and Carlos Sanz Lázaro.
Source: Universidad de Murcia
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